Minnesota Vikings Protecting Their Needs with T.J. Clemmings

By Ben Ryan | May 2, 2015

On what seemed to be a beautiful day out in Chicago, Illinois, day three began at 12p.m. With only five minutes on the clock instead of seven and ten, the decisions have to come just a bit faster. As many players sit around still waiting, the list of prospects is more impressive than you would think.

Player such as Bryce Petty, Brett Hundley, T.J. Clemmings, and Michael Bennett, there’s definitely still some great talent that could be snagged up.

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With the 110th overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected the man right above this, T.J. Clemmings, from Pittsburgh.

Clemmings is yet again another excellent pick the Vikings have made this year. Filling up all the needs one pick at a time. They got their man with Trae Waynes, they picked up a great linebacker with Eric Kendricks, selected an animal with Danielle Hunter, and now an offensive tackle to help protect their quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

In Clemmings’ senior year, he started all 13 games, and was also voted team captain. As well as as being voted first team All-ACC and second-team All American.

Clemmings has great footwork, being a high school basketball player certainly helped that. Moving very well from side to side and effectively coming off blocks to pick up the blitz. As well as keeping his weight moving after he pushes opponents to the ground. Speaking of his weight and height, Clemmings is massive.

The 6’5″, 309 pound animal with 35 1/8″ arms is everything you can want in an offensive tackle, physique wise. He uses his size and long arms to push defenders away with ease. When he gets beat around the edge, he easily changes direction to get back into focus. Clemmings is a fantastic run blocker, his pass blocking is okay, but can easily be fixed.

However, an issue with Clemmings is that he apparently has a stress fracture in his foot. In an interview with the New Jersey Advance Media, Clemmings’ agent Mike McCartney said that he never even felt pain in his foot, which is slightly odd. Regardless, Clemmings played through it without even knowing, but once it was official about the injury, teams began to question his draft stock.

He’s also fairly new to the position, coming into the Pitt as a defensive end and playing a year in that position, he had to learn a whole new spot. He succeeded with ease, though. Starting two years on the offensive line and now being selected in the fourth round, he has great potential to keep getting better.

Nov 22, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers offensive lineman T.J. Clemmings (68) blocks at the line of scrimmage against the Syracuse Orange during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh won 30-7. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Clemmings was seen as a top guard in this draft by many analysts, some even placed him in the second round. Then the second round came, and he was still on the board after that, and the third round as well. Clemmings went down a massive slide and the Vikings were there to stop it.

It’s probably a great thing they did, too. It was a priority to protect Bridgewater as he comes into his second year in the league. After going in on defense the first three selections, it was offensive coordinator Norv Turner’s time to shine.

With a draft that had a tremendous amount of depth at the offensive line, the Vikings could afford to wait a few rounds.

Since they did, and potentially picked up a second round worthy prospect, the Vikings win again in this situation. Bridgewater, and Adrian Peterson will now have some help at the line, which can only lead to great things for the Vikings. As they continue to make smart picks in this draft, a fantastic 2015 season for the team is in the making.

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